The present invention is directed to a management scheme for computers and graphical user interfaces (“GUI”) therefor. Specifically, the present invention is directed to a scheme for managing a suite of related application under an icon driven, point-and-click interface.
Modern computer systems use graphical user interfaces and icons to permit operators to use various applications largely without training. When used with a pointer device such as a mouse or a touch screen, the icons permit operators simply to point and click on an icon to start a computer application. The Microsoft Windows line of operating systems for personal computers and the Palm operating system for personal digital assistants are popular examples of commercially available icon-driven user interfaces. When a new application is installed on a computer, an installation wizard typically manages installation and configuration of the software files themselves. The wizard often places a new icon on the computer's “desktop,” a computer workspace that is displayed when there are no open applications that overlay it, and additional entries in a pull up taskbar that may be opened on user command.
Increasingly, modern computer applications include not just a single application but a suite of integrated applications that are highly related. In such a circumstance, application designers may expect that operators will work routinely with a primary application (“the main application”) and invoke secondary applications less frequently. To provide intuitive access to operators, the application designers may desire to provide desktop access to the secondary applications as well as the main application. Of course, provision of separate desktop icons tends to clutter the desktop itself. Over time, desktop icons can become intermixed with those of other applications. Operators tend to lose track of icons for infrequently used applications and may not remember that they are to be used in conjunction with a main icon.
Current user interfaces permit operators to collect a plurality of related applications in a folder (which often corresponds to storage space on a computer's file system) and to represent the folder as an icon on the desktop. This scheme is cumbersome, however, because it requires operators to progress through a multi-step navigation process to reach both frequently-used and infrequently-used applications. To start a frequently-used application, an operator typically must double click on a folder icon, which opens a folder window. The operator must identify and double click on an icon representing the frequently-used application to start it. The same process must be followed to access and open infrequently-used applications. This scheme is disadvantageous because it prevents convenient access to frequently-used applications, which is why desktop icons are provided in the first place.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a desktop management scheme that creates intuitive links among related applications and preserved the convenience of icon-driven interfaces.